IT’S All Ireland football week and it has the making of a great final. Both teams have plenty of physicality, pace and pure football ability. Still unlikely to be a high scoring contest as the teams will look to nullify each other but you never know with the forward potential on show. One or two early goals could blow the game wide open!

No matter the sport, successful teams rely on mean defences and scoring attacks. This is nothing different with Galway and Kerry. It’s interesting nevertheless how these teams’ defensive systems can be viewed as just part of overall good game plans while other teams get tagged as having boring blanket defences.

I remember well the devastating effect of Donegal’s counter-attack at their prime under Jimmy McGuinness’ stewardship when we were defeated in the 2012 All-Ireland. Set up by being very hard to break down, with a blanket defence, they also attacked with great variety and threat. This was the template for many teams going forward at all levels. Not a case of copy and paste but rather using the same principles.

Not every team though, could execute it as successfully due to deficits in coaching, conditioning or quality of player. I have seen many teams drop players back the field but the team still doesn’t defend any better. No communication, poor positioning, lack of aggression and work-rate. Then after finally winning possession the team is unable to attack with sufficient pace, numbers, and structure.

The very successful Dublin team have been doing it properly for years. They dropped man back when required to reduce space and limit easier scoring chances for the opposition. It’s common sense really to have different defensive plans when the team is at its most vulnerable on the pitch. In essence it can be the winning and losing of the game.

It will be the same this weekend. Both teams will know they have plenty of attacking threat, but the key component will be how they execute their defensive plan. Kerry delivered early high ball into the forward line versus Dublin, and considering some of Galway’s frailties dealing with the high ball versus Armagh, I would be expecting the same this week. Potentially one of Galway’s half-backs may sit that bit deeper to protect the full-back line but this could free up pockets of space elsewhere for Kerry’s sharp shooters.

This was an area that both Mayo and Roscommon couldn’t exploit fully in the Connacht Championship. This Galway team is gaining confidence though and they’re also improving through regular competitive action and winning. There’s no doubt they have progressed defensively from the start of their campaign.

Kerry will want Galway to start like they did versus Derry, where their attack lacked patience and composure. Shots were rushed or possession was lost cheaply. If Galway can get some early scores to settle them, then I think they can ask questions of the Kerry defence. Yes Kerry may not concede too many goals (only three so far this year), but they will give up some shooting opportunities. Dublin will regret some of the wides they racked up early in the semi-final.

Also, will Kerry have a different plan to deal with Damien Comer who could have a physical edge on Jason Foley? Maybe they will trust the system, led by Tadhg Morley as their sweeper. Comer provides many big moments for this team, inspiring those around him and instilling belief. Comer after a slow start, got the better of Brendan Rogers who is a leader for Derry. The individual battle here was reflective of how the game went with Galway’s performance rising while in contrast Derry’s performance took a massive dip. It will be interesting to see what effect Comer will have on Sunday.

To call it I would expect a Kerry victory as the Kerry-Dublin semi final was played at a higher pace and quality than the Derry-Galway semi-final. Kerry will look to get ahead early, control the game and rattle Galway a bit.

Still though all the pressure is on Kerry and Galway are still very dangerous opponents. Galway will need to raise their game another notch and they certainly have the attacking potential to do this. If the game is close after the first 20 minutes then it could be very close. The impact from the bench then could be the deciding factor. Look no further than the excellent Limerick hurlers for an example of that.

Paudie Kissane

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www.pkperformance.ie